Maybe she's born with it, maybe it's Maybelline -- or maybe it's microblading. The plastic surgeon's office isn't just for someone who wants to go under the knife. Local doctors and aestheticians are offering a host of procedures to woman starting in their 20s to 60s and beyond. Treatments like microneedling, microblading and Juvederm are popular with the twentysomething set, according to Louis Bonaldi MD, FACS, of Reno Plastic & Cosmetic Surgery Center in Reno.

The most popular treatments across the board right now are microneedling, Kaibella, Botox and oxygen facials, Bonaldi said. Botox can be done as a preventative measure to keep lines from getting worse; microneedling helps the tone and the texture of the skin; and oxygen facials are a special-event treatment that “gives this really nice glow to your skin, which is great,” he said.

The treatment Bonaldi is most excited about right now is BBL, a broad-based light treatment in which light penetrates the skin and focuses on red-blood vessels or spots on skin to minimize redness or remove spots. He said the procedure takes about 40 minutes, which means you can do it on your lunch hour. You might have a bit of swelling following the procedure, but its' minimal.

What is microblading?

Microblading procedure for eyebrows – semi-permanent tattooing – looks really realistic and is one of the most-popular procedures for the younger set, Bonaldi said.

And in the age of Gal Gadot's full eyebrows, following an age of over-plucked or waxed skinny eyebrow, it's a treatment that helps one get that full-eyebrow look if your brows need help. It's a technique Hailey Palmer, a permanent cosmetics technician who runs Hailey Palmer Cosmetics, is seeing the majority of her clientele request.

"Microblading is a technique that is ideal for anyone looking to enhance their eyebrows with natural, hair-like strokes. It’s a great option for those wanting to correct their brow shape after years of follicle damage from various epilation methods. Anyone who wants fuller brows, more symmetry or even wants to reshape their over-plucked eyebrows," she said. "It's a tattoo technique that began in Asia and made it to the states several years ago. I would say it has gotten popular in the Nevada area within the last three years."

She said the first thing to do when considering whether to get microbladed is to do your homework -- fill in your own eyebrows or get them tinted to make sure you like the look. She also said to make sure to research what the brow looks like once it's healed.

"There is a lot of great information out there when it comes to the best results and what a finished microblade treatment should look like. Most of the images on the internet are post-treatment results ... the pigment has not had a chance settle into the skin to reveal its true look," she said.

A technician draws and measures prior to microblading brows.

A technician draws and measures prior to microblading brows.

dimid_86, Getty Images/iStockphoto

Just do it

On a Friday in May, I decided to get my eyebrows microbladed. I booked an appointment with Palmer and made sure to not drink alcohol or get a sunburn within 24 hours of my treatment. I've never had a tattoo, so I was a little trepidatious, but also excited about the prospect of super-fleek brows.

The first session can take anywhere from an hour to two hours -- mine was more on the two-hour side of things, but Palmer and I spent a lot of time discussing the look I wanted and she drew and outlined and measured around my brows quite a bit. When it comes to how long it takes, she said it just depends on the technician.

"I like to give myself time to numb my clients and perfect the treatment, also allocating enough time for the pigment to settle into the freshly treated area," she said.

And I did appreciate the numbing cream. The actual tattooing at first feels like tugging, like if your eyebrows were being tweezed but a few hairs were pulled out at once. When the numbing cream started to wear off, it did get a bit more uncomfortable, but nothing unmanageable.

Once we were done, we scheduled our second session for four weeks later, and discussed, after care, which is hugely important. Palmer said after care is 70 percent of one's results.

"After care is so important because microblading is a semi-permanent treatment where I am etching hair-like strokes into the basal layer of the skin, which will eventually migrate to the surface, causing the pigment to fade over time. Improper care will cause the skin to push the ink out prematurely. We want your skin to heal the hair-like stroke properly for the best looking long-term results," she said.

So, for two weeks you: Stay out of the sun. Don't pick at the treated area -- which sounds easy, but it gets itchy. Apply cream to the treatment four times a day. No makeup, soap or sunscreen. And stay out of the sauna.

A technician uses a precise shaping crayon and then microblades color ink with tattoo pen.

A technician uses a precise shaping crayon and then microblades color ink with tattoo pen.

miljko, Getty Images

Results

As of press time, it had been about two weeks since my treatment, and I have to say, I really love it. It has filled in the spots in my brows where my natural shape didn't venture and also created a nice tail at the end of each brow that I didn't have before. My eyebrows are fuller with more of an arch, and not having to fill them in every day will streamline my morning makeup routine.

"A mandatory 4-6 week touch-up is require ensuring that the skin has retained the pigment, to insert additional strokes for a fuller look and to correct what may not have lasted in the healing process," Palmer said.

Palmer said an individual's results of microblading vary by person and can last anywhere from nine months to two years.

"Various factors can determine how well the pigment will retain in the skin such as the amount of pigment implanted, the client's skin type, immediate after care and the client’s medical history," she said.